1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a removable cover for a fan blade with an engagable and disengagable overlapping joint to accommodate blades having a range of sizes and shapes.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
The blades of rotating fans are known to collect dirt and grime. Fans generally operate in an environment containing dust, lint and oils. This is especially true for overhead fans operating in kitchens, bedrooms and so forth. Heated air rises and carries with it dust, lint, oily vapors and similar materials. The fan blades pass through air containing this mixture and accumulate a layer of the materials on the surfaces of the fan blades.
It is often difficult to clean the fan blades of overhead fans. The fans may be installed at a height that makes them inconvenient to reach. Ladders or scaffolds may be required to reach the fans. Also, there is the difficulty of cleaning the blades from a ladder or scaffold. Removable fan blade covers have been proposed in the past to circumvent these difficulties, but each such cover has had a defect in design that discouraged its general use. The following patents are incorporated by reference herein and are illustrative of previous fan blade covers: U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,572, U.S. Pat. No. 5,281,093, U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,264, U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,900, U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,005 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,006.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a removable fan blade cover with a compliant overlapping joint which can accommodate a range of fan blades having different sizes and shapes. Other objects and features of the invention will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.
In accordance with the invention, a fan blade cover is provided with an overlapping joint which is readily engagable and disengagable. The overlapping joint provides sufficient compliance to accommodate the fan blade cover to variations in the width and shape of individual fan blades. This permits the fan blade covers to be made in relatively few sizes as each cover can be adjusted to provide a snug and aesthetically pleasing fit to a range of different fan blades.
The invention summarized above comprises the constructions hereinafter described, the scope of the invention being indicated by the subjoined claims.